Letter: Scientists agree that global warming is crisis

Ron Barnett's recent article "Climate change's causes hotly debated" is totally misleading. Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists are in agreement that the earth is warming and that is primarily caused by the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. To his credit, this is stated in the article. However, Barnett then goes on to cite the International Climate Science Coalition as skeptics to this widely accepted idea, as if this were a scientific group.

Upon visiting its website, I found that no one on the board of ICSC has any degrees or expertise in climate science. The executive director is a mechanical engineer, another board member is a paleontologist, and a third worked for the New Zealand wine industry. They claim that they are funded by individuals, but IRS records show that they once received monies from the Heartland Institute. The Heartland Institute has been funded in part by ExxonMobil and is a member of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) whose primary function is to write complete legislative packages at the behest of corporations. This legislation is then introduced into state legislatures by friendly legislators.

The one true scientist cited in your article is Richard Lindzen, a professor emeritus from MIT. Lindzen has proffered a theory that decreasing tropical cirrus clouds in a warmer world will allow more long-wave radiation to escape the atmosphere, counteracting the warming and therefore we need not worry. However, most mainstream researchers have discredited Dr. Lindzen's theory.

We must turn away from fossil fuels and turn toward other, non-polluting energy sources as quickly as possible. The technology is available or will soon be available. In the meantime, we must institute a carbon use tax to help fund research into these alternative energy sources.